By Hisham Al Bahkali
THE digital transformation of industry in Saudi Arabia is the big opportunity to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, Hisham Al Bahkali, GE’s President & CEO for Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, said.
The Kingdom has two great strengths that have the potential to be much better utilized: Saudi youth -that accounts for more than half the total population; and Saudi Arabia’s industrial infrastructure, which contributes significantly to the national economy. Integrating these two strengths is the key to transforming the economy to help unlock its true value.
And that is what GE’s industrial internet strategy brings to the table – the meshing together of industrial assets with the analysis of big data to achieve unprecedented levels of productivity and operational efficiency.
GE is transforming to be the world’s leading Digital Industrial company – an evolution of our 130-year-old company that is well-aligned with the aims of Saudi Vision 2030, approved by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, and announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
With its focus on driving economic growth and diversification, localized manufacturing and Saudi talent development, the Saudi Vision 2030 - and one of its main supporting pillars, the National Transformation Program 2020 – lays down on a clear roadmap for businesses to contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s all-round competitiveness and standing in the world.
With over 80 years as a partner of the Kingdom, GE is responding to the leadership’s call through the launch of our digital industrial technologies in Saudi Arabia. This was the main message of our recently held ‘Minds + Machines Saudi Arabia 2016’ event, hosted for the first time in the Kingdom, and attended by high-ranking government officials and industry leaders.
Our digital industrial transformation narrative for Saudi Arabia is defined by multiple pillars: The first is to partner with the Kingdom in its economic & industrial diversification through localized industrial manufacturing.
The second is to spearhead a new digital industrial co-creation platform that will involve the best minds in the Kingdom, who will work with GE’s global researchers and professionals to develop cutting edge digital solutions.
The third pillar is to develop Saudi human capital through knowledge sharing and by creating vibrant platforms that drive localized R&D and innovation. This, in turn, leads to creating high quality jobs for Saudis and nurturing the next generation of Saudi leaders and technologically oriented talent.
The fourth pillar is to strengthen the economic competitiveness of Saudi Arabia by driving exports and developing an industrial hub that serves not just the region but also Europe, Asia and the Americas. Saudi small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be our partners in this, and become part of a global supply chain.
But before we discuss the pillars and the proof-points, it is important to understand why such a transformational approach is so important for Saudi Arabia.
Across the region, the challenges of oil price volatility have heightened the need for a new development narrative that does not focus on oil revenues as the primary driver of progress.
Simultaneously, the increase in population continues to drive demand for essential services including electricity and water, better healthcare, efficient transport and the need to create new and meaningful jobs for the well-educated, qualified young people who enter the workforce.
These requirements cannot be addressed in silos. It needs an integrated approach that the government has envisioned through its Saudi Vision 2030.
Having supported Saudi Arabia’s inspiring growth over the past 80 years, we are partnering on this next wave of development with every action of our 2,000 strong workforce and through our digital industrial strategy for the Kingdom.
It is an overarching approach to create a thriving manufacturing, entrepreneurial and innovation-driven ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, which draws on the skills – engineering and software – of the best minds in the country and of our youth. And at every step, we are pushing the envelope – working in partnership to support economic growth.
For example, while we are strengthening our multi-faceted manufacturing ecosystem in the Kingdom through investments in GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (GEMTEC) in the 2nd Industrial City, Dammam, we are not simply focused on ‘making gas turbines’ led by a predominant Saudi technical workforce.
GEMTEC also becomes our first ‘Brilliant Factory’ in the region by introducing advanced digital industrial capabilities, which will drive the highest standards of operational efficiency & productivity as well as lower costs and use real-time monitoring to achieve reduced downtime. In addition, GEMTEC, which rolled out its first ‘Made in Saudi’ turbines in 2016, has now inaugurated a new Heavy Duty Gas Turbine Manufacturing Facility. These exciting developments bring us even closer to our customers and create an exports hub for technologically advanced gas turbines.
Further, Saudi researchers at GEMTEC work closely with their counterparts at the GE Saudi Technology & Innovation Center in Dhahran Techno-Valley on Hot & Harsh research to identify solutions for challenging environments that are not just Saudi solutions for Saudi, but Saudi solutions for the region and the world.
Academic institutions such as the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) are collaborating with GE on this research, sharpening the research & innovation skills of Saudi technical talent. The findings of these collaborative research projects will be applied to gas turbines manufactured at GEMTEC and to ‘Made in Saudi’ oil & gas equipment also manufactured in the Kingdom.
With this integration of Saudi talent across the board, we are creating a truly ‘Made in Saudi’ mindset and a robust, interdependent ecosystem.
We have a similar array of digital industrial initiatives in various industries that we are pioneering with our partners in Saudi Arabia. For example, the GE Saudi Technology & Innovation Center will be at the heart of GE’s digital footprint and capabilities in Kingdom, growing digital-savvy talent in state-of-the-art laboratories with training and skill-set development programs focusing on start-ups and entrepreneurs in the digital industrial space.
We are helping develop digital power plants that enable our partners to monitor the operations of every single piece of equipment to avoid and manage unplanned outages. Our digital hospitals are transforming the way healthcare is delivered, with a focus on identifying non-communicable diseases earlier for potentially more effective treatment. While our LED lighting solutions help our partners gain significant savings in energy usage, we will take this to the next level with the local manufacturing of our LED Luminaire here in the Kingdom.
And what really drives our digital industrial strategy forward is the active participation of Saudi talent. We have highly qualified software professionals and technical talent ‘waiting in the wings’ to become partners in the Kingdom’s growth.
We are providing them the platform to contribute their skills for the nation. We are building a new business model and culture in the Kingdom, where Saudi talent make advanced technology solutions in Saudi that become part of the global supply chain through the support of Saudi SMEs. This is how we are transforming our own presence in the Kingdom to support the growth goals envisioned by the leadership. With significant investments in new facilities, research and talent development, we will continue to be a true long-term partner in Saudi Arabia’s transformational growth.
— The writer is GE’s President & CEO for Saudi Arabia & Bahrain
